Riedel



Aug. 6, 1957 J. RIEDEL SOLDERLESS GUTTER FOR summcs 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June '7, 1954 IN VEN TOR. JOHN R/EDEL 14, I of: y

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J. RIEDEL SOLDERLESS GUTTER' FOR BUILDINGS Aug. 6, 1957 2 S heets-Sheet 2 Filed June 7 '7, 1954 INVENTOR. H JOHN R/EDEL flffOEA/E/J Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is defined in the following claims:

1. A solderless gutter structure for roof runoff water comprising a pair of gutter troughs, a joint section comprising a trough-shaped portion of sheet metal conforming to the outer configuration of the gutter troughs and in endwise, overlapping, interfitted relation therewith, a pair of tabs bent downwardly on the inner wall of said joint section that overlie and engage the upper edge of an inner wall portion of each gutter trough fitted therein, a tab on the inner wall of the joint section for mounting the joint section on the outer marginal portion of a roof, at bracing strap in each joint section comprising an inner end portion secured to a low point centrally of the inner wall of the joint section, and an upwardly and outwardly extending portion overlying the upper edge of the outer wall of the joint section and releasably connected thereto, whereby the outer Wall of the joint section is releaslably held thereby against outward displacement.

2. A solderless gutter structure for roof runoif water comprising a pair of gutter troughs, a joint section comprising a trough-shaped portion of sheet metal conforming to the outer configuration of the gutter troughs and in endwise, overlapping, interfitted relation therewith, a pair of tabs bent downwardly on the inner wall of said joint section that overlie and engage the upper edge of an inner wall portion of each gutter trough fitted therein, a tab on the inner wall of the joint section for mounting the joint section on the outer marginal portion of a roof, a bracket for each gutter trough comprising an inwardly bent ear portion extending over a marginal roof element, an upright portion extending downwardly along an inner wall of the gutter trough and secured thereto, and an upwardly and outwardly extending portion overlying the upper edge of the outer wall of the gutter trough and releasably connected thereto whereby the outer wall of the gutter trough is held thereby against outward displace ment.

3. A solderless gutter structure for roof runofl water comprising a pair of gutter troughs, a joint section comprising a trough-shaped portion of sheet metal conforming to the outer configuration of the gutter troughs and in endwise overlapping interfitted relation therewith, a pair of tabs bent downwardly on an inner side of said joint section to overlie and engage an inner Wall portion of each gutter trough fitted therein, a flashing positioning tongue formed to project from the upper edge of the inner wall of each joint section, roof engaging means on the inner wall portion of the joint section for mounting the joint section on the outer marginal portion of a roof, brace means connected to the inner wall of the joint section and releasably attached to the upper edge of the outer wall of the joint section for holding said outer joint wall inwardly against the outer walls of a pair of gutter troughs inserted in opposite ends thereof, and a flashing strip comprising a flange portion formed to overlie a marginal roof portion, an upstanding channel along an edge of the roof flange portion formed to receive the positioning tongues closely therein, the outer wall of the channel being extended downwardly in the form of a drip flange overlying the inner walls of the joint section and gutter troughs adjacent thereto.

4. A solderless gutter structure for roof runofl water comprising a pair of gutter troughs, a joint section comprising a trough-shaped portion of sheet metal conforming to the outer configuration of the gutter troughs and in endwise overlapping, interfitted relation therewith, retaining means on an inner side of said joint section that overlie and engage an inner wall portion of each gutter trough fitted therein, roof engaging means on the inner wall of the joint section for mounting the joint section on the outer marginal portion of a roof, a brace strap secured to the inner wall of the joint section and releasably attached to the upper edge of the outer wall of the joint section for holding said outer joint wall inwardly against the outer walls of a pair of gutter troughs inserted in opposite ends thereof to retain the gutter troughs against displacement, an upstanding flashing positioning tongue adjacent the upper edge of each joint section, a flashing strip bent at substantially right angles with one portion thereof overlying a marginal roof portion and the other portion depending into the joint section and gutter troughs mounted adjacent said roof portion, and a downwardly open, upstanding flange formed along the line of bend of said flashing for receiving the flashing positioning tongue therein.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,090,985 Hopkins Mar. 24, 1914 2,255,279 Callaway Sept. 9, 1941 2,585,324 Hutchisson et al Feb. 12, 1952 2,639,680 Tennison May 26, 1953 2,647,476 Gibbons Aug. 4, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 24,544 Australia Sept. 21, 1936 934,657 France May 28, 1948 6 33 of the joint section is free to be flexed outwardly to the solid line position of Fig. 4 to receive two adjoining lengths of gutter trough (Fig. 7) therein. The outer wall 33 of the joint section then is forced upwardly and inwardly to cause its inturned outer rim 36 to snap into overlying, interfitted, retaining relation with the outer rim 12 of each gutter trough 10 inserted therein. The screw 35 then may be reinserted as shown in Figs. 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7 to secure the outer wall 33 of the joint section 17 in position to retain the gutter trough 10 firmly therein.

For supporting the gutter trough 10 at desired intermediate points between joint sections 17 which support its ends, gutter support brackets 4-0 are provided. These brackets consist of a flat ear portion 41 for overlying the roof. deck 22, each support ear 41 having a plurality of slotted nail receiving holes 42 (Fig. 6) therein similar to the holes 23 in the ears 21. A flashing positioning and retaining tongue 43 is cut from the sheet metal of the bracket 40 and is bent to extend angularly upwardly and outwardly to lie in the same plane as the tongue 24, on the joint section 17 when both are mounted in alignment with each other as shown in Fig. 1.

Each trough mounting bracket 49 has a portion 45. thereof bent downwardly relative to the car 41 to lie fiat against the outer face of the eaves and is offset inwardly at 47 to clear the upper edge of the inner wall of the gutter trough 1t Thence the bracket 40 is formed to extend downwardly along the inner Wall 24) of the gutter to a point 48 (Fig. 3) where it is bent to extend diagonally upwardly and outwardly across the gutter trough and is bent again at 49 to overlie the top rim 12 of the outer wall 14 of the gutter trough 10. The bracket 40 is secured to the inner wall 26 of the gutter trough by a first screw 50 and to the rim 12 thereof by a second screw 51.

The flashing strips for directing the runoif water from the roofing 53 (Fig. 1) into the gutter may be made in suitable lengths, for example, in lengths approximating those of the gutter trough 10. Each flashing strip 25 consists of a flat portion 54 for securing to the roof deck 22 before applying the roofing material 53 with which the roof deck is to be covered. The flat portion 54 is provided with longitudinally slotted nail holes 55 corresponding, for example, to the holes 23 in the joint section ears 21 and 21a (Fig. 5) so that when the flashing is nailed to the roof deck it may creep sufliciently to compensate for unequal expansion between the roof deck and the flashing.

A reversely bent positioning flange 57 is formed to extend lengthwise of each flashing strip 25 with the side walls 57a and 57b (Fig. 2) of the flange separated to receive the tongues 24 and 43 of the joint sections 17 and gutter trough support brackets 40, respectively, when the parts are mounted as shown in Fig. 1.

A drip apron portion 59 is formed to extend downwardly from the outer wall 57b of the positioning flange 57 to overlie the upper edges of the inner Walls of the joint sections 17 and gutter troughs 10 when the parts are mounted as shown in Fig. 1. The lower marginal portion 59a (Figs. 1 and 2) of the apron portion 59 is offset outwardly at 60 to clear the inner walls of the joint sections and gutter trough to insure the free fall of water flowing down the apron into the gutter and to prevent capillary action between these parts. The brackets 32 and 40 are connected to the inner walls of the joint section 17 and gutter trough 10, respectively, at sufliciently low points to clear the lower edge of the flashing apron 59.

For sealing the joints between adjoining lengths of flashing 25, joint sealing members 63 are provided for covering these joints. Each joint sealing member 63 is shaped to have close interfitted relation over the flashing strips 25 and is slightly longer than the width of the flashing strips 25. Nail holes 64 are provided in each ijoint sealing member 63 inwardly beyond the flashing strips 25.

For carrying the guttering around interior or exterior corners, angle sections (not shown) may be provided similar to the joint sections 17 but having the necessary angle construction to fit around these corners. Since the manner of fabricating such angle sections will be apparent to one familiar with the art, these additional items are omitted, for the purpose of simplification, from the present specification. Also it is obvious that downspout connections (not shown) may be provided in the usual manner at desired points throughout the length of the gutter.

In mounting the guttering of the present invention on a building, a joint section 17 may be mounted at a selected initial point where it is desired to start mounting the gutter. The joint section 17 is mounted with its inner wall 18 fitted flat against the outer face of the eaves 15, and with the supporting cars 21 and 21a flat on the roof deck 22. The ears 21 and 21a then are secured to the deck by nails 23a driven substantially midway of the lengths of the slotted openings 23 in the ears.

With the upper outer bracket screw 35 removed, and the end of a length of gutter trough 10 remote from the joint section 17 supported temporarily, for example by a helper or by a bracket 40 secured by nails 45a (Figs. 3 and 6) to the roof deck, the upper end of the outer wall 33 of the joint section 17 is flexed outwardly as shown in solid lines in Fig. 4. The end of the gutter trough 10 adjacent the joint section 17 then is fitted into the joint section as shown in Fig. 4, with the upper edge of the inner wall 20 of the gutter trough fitted snugly beneath the reversely bent tab 27 or 27:: as the case may be to retain the gutter trough against upward displacement. The outer wall 33 of the joint section then is swung inwardly to its broken line position of Fig. 4 with the rim 36 of the wall 33 snapped over the outer rim 12 of the gutter trough 10. The screw 35 then is driven in to secure the outer end of the bracket 32 to the rim 36 as shown in Fig. 2. Additional lengths of gutter trough 10, joint sections 17 and trough support brackets 40 may be mounted in a similar manner as required.

To insure against even a slight seepage of water at the joints, it is preferred to provide a suitable mastic coating (not shown) such as, for example, a zinc chromate paste, between overlapping portions of the gutter trough 10 and the joint sections 17 and between the flashing strips 25 and the joint sealing members 63. This provides a flexible seal at these joint but still permits relative expansion so as to insure tight joints without undue strain during the life of the guttering.

With the guttering mounted on the building as shown in Fig. l, the flashing strips 25 are applied by fitting the angularly upstanding positioning flanges 57 of successive flashing strips over the tongues 24 and 43 throughout the length of the guttering. The flashing strips are secured to the roof by nails (not shown) driven through the slotted holes 55 in the flashing into the roof deck 22. The joints between adjoining strips of the flashing 25 then are sealed by applying a joint sealing member 63 over each thereof. After the flashing has thus been applied and the joints therein sealed, the roofing material 53 may be laid in a conventional manner.

The invention provides extremely high quality guttering which may be easily fitted and applied even by relatively unskilled Workers. It has simple, classic lines, and when applied as illustrated and as described herein is assured of a long, water-tight, trouble-free life.

While I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it will be understood however, that various changes and modifications may be made in the details thereof without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. 

